Students experiment with heat effects on judgment

McLain, Emily. University Wire; Carlsbad [Carlsbad]07 May 2015.

According to the research seniors Eddie Carrillo and Sean Arbogast did, temperature is one of the
leading factors that can alter your cognition.

Heat and Learning

Goodman, Joshua; Hurwitz, Michael; Park, Jisung; Smith, Jonathan. NBER Working Paper Series;
Cambridge, May 2018. DOI:10.3386/w24639

We provide the first evidence that cumulative heat exposure inhibits cognitive skill development and
that school air conditioning can mitigate this effect. Studen

t fixed effects models using 10 million PSAT-takers show that hotter school days in the year prior to the
test reduce learning, with extreme heat being particularly damaging and larger effects for low income
and minority students. Weekend and summer heat has little impact and the effect is not explained by
pollution or local economic shocks, suggesting heat directly reduces the productivity of learning inputs.
New data providing the first measures of school-level air conditioning penetration across the US suggest
such infrastructure almost entirely offsets these effects. Without air conditioning, each 1°F increase in
school year temperature reduces the amount learned that year by one percent. Our estimates imply
that the benefits of school air conditioning likely outweigh the costs in most of the US, particularly given
future predicted climate change.

Heat makes you dumb, in four charts

https://search.proquest.com/docview/2071044680/C67316853FF24C11PQ/30?accountid=173015

Students’ Perceived Heat-Health Symptoms Increased with Warmer

Classroom Temperatures
https://search.proquest.com/docview/2113295290/C67316853FF24C11PQ/34?accountid=173015

Temperatures in Africa are expected to increase by the end of the century. Heat-related health impacts
and perceived health symptoms are potentially a problem, especially in public schools with limited
resources. Students (n = 252) aged ~14–18 years from eight high schools completed an hourly heat-
health symptom log over 5 days. Data loggers measured indoor classroom temperatures. A high
proportion of students felt tired (97.2%), had low concentration (96.8%) and felt sleepy (94.1%) during
at least one hour on any day. There were statistically significant correlations, when controlling for school
cluster effect and time of day, between indoor temperatures ≥32 °C and students who felt tired and
found it hard to breathe. Consistently higher indoor classroom temperatures were observed in
classrooms constructed of prefabricated asbestos sheeting with corrugated iron roof and converted
shipping container compared to brick classrooms. Longitudinal studies in multiple seasons and different
classroom building types are needed.
How the heat affects our brains
https://search.proquest.com/docview/2086348593/C67316853FF24C11PQ/35?accountid=173015

Gulf News; Dubai [Dubai]10 Aug 2018.

Man, it’s a hot day.

And that could mean bad news for your performance at work or school, according to at least four
recently published studies.

The reports, which examine the effects of air temperature on cognitive performance in the US and
China, rely on different data sets and methods to arrive at the same conclusion: The hotter it gets, the
more our brains seem to slow down.

The good news? These effects can be mitigated by air conditioning. But access to air conditioning is
dependent in large part on economic factors. And thanks to climate change, rising temperatures in
coming years are likely to place even more stresses on kids’ — and adults’— cognitive abilities.

Too hot to get good grades

Chapter Introduction
Many architecture students of the contemporary generation are prone to distractions to their
studies and are struggling to keep their attentiveness while on discussions as most of them are tired,
sleepless, and many times irritated. Furthermore, these students are more likely to stay indoors due to
their heavy study loads and projects and the interior environment affects them the most physically and
mentally especially if the classroom is poor in many aspects such as ventilation, acoustics and furniture
layout.

While there are many factors that contribute to the students’ disturbances on lectures inside
classrooms, this research focuses more on the changes of the room temperature, thermal comfort of
students and how it affects their concentration during lectures.

Background of the Study

Maintaining students’ attentiveness during class hours is an important aspect for better results
in their academics. One factor from the many disturbances of the architecture students’ poor focus is
the room temperature. This factor can inhibit cognitive skills and the increase of temperature is making
students feel tired, with low concentration and sleepy, which adds up to students’ struggles in keeping
their mind focused. This research identifies the ideal room temperature of the architecture students
that would keep them attentive during class hours.

Rationale
This study raises awareness of the worsen changes and effects of the temperature on the
interior environment to the concentration of architecture students. This also promote improvements to
their classrooms regarding their thermal comfort for better attentiveness during class hours.

Statement of the Problem

The discomforts of students in their interior environment causes lack of concentration inside the
room during class hours. One factor that is considered to affect them is the room temperature and their
thermal comfort.

Key Research Questions

1. What are the disturbances that architecture students experience while on lectures?
2. What indoor settings can be used to improve students’ concentration in a conducive classroom?
3. In what temperature can the students concentrate best during class hours?
Goals

To find out the factors that affects the attentiveness of the architecture students during class hours.

To find out how can these factors be manipulated to improve students ‘concentration.

Scope and Delimitations

This research focuses on the fourth-year architecture students of the Bulacan State University and the
interior environment of the rooms Audio Visual Room and room 311 B on the third floor Federizo Hall.
The experiments and survey are observed from many students on a room while on lecture. The
observed and surveyed students are of normal conditions, without disabilities and without serious
mental illness, both males and females. This study will not focus on the effects of disturbances caused
by smartphones, putting more attention to interior design and how the students react to changes of
their environment.